The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has again adjourned to March 14 a suit seeking to stop the National Assembly from taking any further action towards reviewing the Constitution unless the question of Nigeria’s unity, particularly the Indigenous People of Biafra’s agitation, was settled through a referendum.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/538/2021, was filled in June last year by the plaintiffs and leaders Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), including Nastura Ashir Shariff, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, Balarabe Rufa’i and Aminu Adam; joining the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and the National Assembly as defendants.
On November 2, when the matter was first scheduled for hearing by Justice Inyang Ekpo of the Federal High Court, the court could not sit and the suit was consequently adjourned to Thursday, January 20.
However, the suit was again adjourned to March 14 as a result of the inability of the court to sit, with lawyers from different regions, including Barristers Sunday Uko Afiko (representing Akwa Ibom and Cross River states), Timilehin Albert Odunwo (representing the Yoruba nation), Sunday Onweremadu (representing the Igbo nation) and counsel to the plaintiff, Safiyanu Gambo Idris, expressing happiness and willingness to be joined in the suit.
Addressing journalists after the adjournment, Thursday, the spokesperson of the CNG, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said instead of constitutional review, the defendants should immediately provide a framework for the actualisation of agitators’ demand on self-determination.
“One of the issues for determination in the substantive suit has to do with the legal obligation of the defendants to provide a framework that will pave the way for the self-determination of the South-eastern states and any other enclave that want to go; so as to leave the geographical entity called Nigeria before any further step is taken to review the constitution.
“We cannot force anyone to stay or leave Nigeria against his wish. The agitation by different groups have lead to heightened insecurity in different parts of the country, so it is only fair that they are heard out for a peaceful resolution of their agitation to either stay or leave Nigeria,” he said.
On his part, a legal practitioner representing the Igbo nation, Barrister Ohaeto Uwazie, lamented the repeated adjournment by the court, saying that he came all the way from Abia state for the hearing only to learn of the adjournment.
“My happiness is that almost all the regions of the country are interested in the referendum, hence this willingness to be joined in the suit. The geographical entity called Nigeria was contrived by the British through the power of the gun. We had no say in the matter. We are now demanding to be heard so that we can either stay in the entity or leave it, hence the agitation for the referendum. It will be a good thing if the suit is determined, but the repeated adjournment by the court is frustrating,” he said.
